The online edition of the Telegraph reports on comments made by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his cabinet yesterday in which he said that there are “dramatic” daily developments in Syria and that Israel is cooperating with the United States to prepare for regime change.

Meanwhile, in Syria itself, the Telegraph and the online editions of the Guardian, Times, Financial Times and Independent all cover a deadly air strike by Syrian government jets yesterday on a breadline in the opposition-held town of Halfava. Around ninety civilians are reported to have been killed. Meanwhile, the Times reports that villages in northern Lebanon are being drawn into the fighting from Syria. The online editions of the Guardian and the Times claim that Russian military advisers are manning some of the Syrian regime’s complex air systems, complicating potential international intervention in the conflict.

The second tranche of voting in Egypt’s referendum on the country’s draft constitution is covered in the online editions of the Guardian and Financial Times. Although the ruling Muslim Brotherhood has claimed that the document has secured the backing of 64 per cent of the vote, opposition leaders have alleged that the result was secured by fraud and are pointing to a 32 per cent turn-out as evidence that the Egyptian people do not approve of the constitution.

Employing a festive theme, several dailies focus on issues relating to Bethlehem. The Independent and Independent i report on a boom in small businesses and tourism in the town, which is controlled by the Palestinian Authority (PA). The Guardian online covers the potential impact of Israeli construction plans in neighbouring East Jerusalem on Bethlehem’s prosperity. The online editions of the Times and Telegraph report claims by archaeologists that the Nativity may have taken place be in a smaller town called Bethlehem in northern Israel and not in the West Bank town as commonly thought. Meanwhile, yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph included a report that Prime Minister Netanyahu has received warnings from Israel’s security and intelligence establishment that Hamas is preparing to activate sleeper cells in the West Bank to wrest control there from PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction.

The Financial Times includes an item on limited economic progress having been made in the Gaza Strip following the ceasefire which ended Operation Pillar of Defence and included indications of greater economic freedoms and trade opportunities for Gazans.

In the Israeli media, most headlines focus on the continuing legal difficulties facing Avigdor Lieberman. Yediot Ahronot, Maariv, Haaretz and Makor Rishon make it their top story, reporting that the State Attorney’s Office is considering indicting Lieberman with the more severe crime of bribery. Apparently, new evidence has come to light over his involvement in the appointment of Zeev Ben-Aryeh to the position of Israel’s ambassador to Latvia. Lieberman is expected to undergo further questioning in the coming days.

Maariv gives prominence to the Labour Party’s announcement yesterday of its’ security-diplomatic platform, which advocates the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians with no pre-conditions. Several dailies also report on Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett’s denial that he supports soldiers disobeying orders to evacuate West Bank settlements after a TV interview on Thursday evening indicated that this was his position.

Meanwhile, Israel Hayom reports on large loss of life in Syria at the hands of President Assad’s regime. The report also covers Prime Minister Netanyahu’s comments to his cabinet yesterday in which he stressed that Israel is cooperating with the United States in the event of regime change in Syria. Israel Radio News this morning reports that Palestinians fired a rocket yesterday from the Gaza Strip which did not enter Israeli territory. It is the first incident of rockets being fired from the Gaza Strip since the end of Operation Pillar of Defence.